When Jeff Lynne “I Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” he wrote, probably not intending to craft a meta-prophetic statement. But just days shy of the 50th anniversary of this song’s release as a single, it remains an unshakable earworm, and there are at least two or three dozen other indelible songs – a significant number of which make up the album’s setlist. Farewell tour from Jeff Lynne’s ELO. In the 1970s, Lynne was the King of Pop, or at least the king of hooks that get stuck in your head and never come back. And now he offers his fans: Electric Light Orchestra It’s a chance to say goodbye to this playlist (as this act was first known) as a living thing.

of the LA area Kia Forum The Friday and Saturday night shows were planned to be the closing of the American leg of the Over and Out Tour, before Lynne plays her last truly UK gigs in Hyde Park next summer. The domestic final didn’t exactly go to plan: a recent sick day and the rescheduling of the affected Phoenix date means Lynne’s US tour will now end in Arizona on Tuesday. So perhaps there was a little less emotion at Saturday’s concert than expected. Given the music’s emphasis on sugar rushes over emotions, and given that Lynne, never a chatty or impressive stage performer, is unlikely to deliver an Elton-like farewell speech, no ELO show in history would be a tear-filled affair. The concert was a dizzying burst of joy from start to tight 90-minute finish, to the point where one had to feel a little sad about it. (Some of us are ready to do this job.)

One reason we didn’t make Lynne’s live retirement any harder than we had to was because touring was essentially a new development for her; We couldn’t get used to his face. The Electric Light Orchestra actually played like a normal band. it was A band formed in the 70s, before Lynne officially became a full-time studio rat. ELO played pre-Kia, then Fabulous Forum, in 1977 and 1981, and that was about it for shows in Los Angeles (or anywhere else) for the next 35 years. A TV taping before a canceled tour in 2001, a Fonda concert in 2015, a Hollywood Bowl Orchestra event in 2016, and most recently… the actual, full-scale tour, including a stop at the Forum in 2018 There was a return. The reasons why Lynne has allowed her recessive traits to come to the fore for the better part of four decades are probably numerous: declining interest in her own great hits, a real penchant for tanning in the studio, shyness on stage, and – above all, the way she presents it – all this elaborate pop confection. and failing to make mini-symphonies sound right without resorting to excessive, unnatural enhancements.

Those with long memories may remember that ELO’s tours in the ’70s were met with some controversy when it became clear that some of the tracks were on Memorex… the kind of thing people stopped blinking at about a quarter of a century ago. Whatever the truth of this, there was a deep, delicious irony in the fact that Saturday night’s Forum show might have been the highlight. liveThis is the best thing that could hit the scene during 2024. He attributed this to manpower, exclaiming as the previous tour began: “Actually, with this many people, we can cover any song I did with three keyboards, two cellos, violin, four guitars, bass, drums, percussion, backing vocals; everything is covered.” Truth be told, he probably had the budget to hire that many managers a few decades ago. But ELO fans didn’t feel the need to look this gift horse in the mouth, no matter how late it arrived.

It can’t be such a pleasant surprise to hear such rich music where real players are proven to be doing their own thing. Drummer Donavan Hepburn did a big part in making sure the audience knew they were keeping things real. Even on later songs, where Bevan toned down a bit, she emphasized booming tom-toms almost as much as original drummer Bev Bevan used to do. Backup singer Melanie Lewis-McDonald won some VIP awards between her ability to imitate the slightly high-pitched voice of the original female vocalists on “Evil Woman” and her ability to sing the lead opera part on the sassy rock-classical crossover tune “Rockaria!” ” The string trio (Amy Langley, Jess Cox and Jessie Murphy) manages to bridge the gap between ELO’s early art-rock days, with Lynne lending her “I Am the Walrus” cello feel to the band’s ultimate disco, “10538 Overture.” -violin period.

Lynne herself was clearly not only singing “Steppin’ Out” (the title of a song that unexpectedly returned to the sets), but she was also stepping up to the mic and generally hitting her mark well. In a few scattered verses or a few exchanged phrases, the lead was given to a male backup singer, but this was not very often. Her sweetest vocals of the night came on “Strange Magic,” a song she (oddly enough) had not performed on the previous tour and that doing it without would have felt wrong. While you wouldn’t necessarily look to ELO for open expressions of deep emotion, there was a sensitivity to his take on the subject that felt moving. The same can be said for the evening’s other notable balladic song, the even sadder “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” – a song as beautiful as it was released in the 1970s and as heart-melting as it is now.

One notable change since ELO’s last tour before the pandemic is that Lynne no longer plays electric guitar, and although she strummed acoustic throughout the evening, none of it can be heard in the mix. It’s no surprise that, at 76, he can no longer belt out the rockabilly licks on, say, a “Roll Over Beethoven” that’s no longer on the set. He already has three other guitarists to take on that role in his stead – a veritable six-string orchestra – and no one will begrudge him if he focuses on his vocals at this point in his career. (Although he seems to be in a genuinely genial mood as he frequently gives the crowd a thumbs-up, he’s certainly not focused on amping up the stage patter.)

There’s a joke somewhere about how ageless Lynne looks and sounds, mostly from afar, just like she did 40 years ago, compared to the deteriorating portrait of Dorian Gray in the audience. It didn’t hurt that, amidst his confusing beard, mop, and shades, he somehow had the foresight to be future-proof; Looking a little older before your time comes may come in handy later. With Lynne being the ultimate master of vocal stacking, it would have been easy with such a large crew to create a show that addressed the shortcomings a 76-year-old singer might experience, but the amount of choral support she received and the volume she delivered was organic. It felt rewarding when we got his voice on its own in the mix, as difficult as the tone of his voice was to define for a fan who always felt underrated.

Its place in history? Listening to the better parts of ELO’s top 10 singles series being played, it was hard not to feel like Lynne was, too. the The pop master of the 1970s. Even if you’re a McCartney freak, there’s at least an argument to be made that during this period the student is approaching and even surpassing the master. The Bee Gees, another obvious influence on what Lynne does, also need to be considered part of the equation, so it may be too early to jump to hasty conclusions in 2024. But hearing so much pop greatness crammed into such a short set felt like proof that when it comes to melodic and arrangement genius, no one does it better.

And the fact that he’s actually recording there was The point for ELO – and live performances have been a great cherry on top lately – is that the only reason not to lament that the touring part of Lynne’s legacy is “a terrible thing to lose”. Still, once the highs provided by these Forum shows are achieved, and knowing there will be several more next July, it will be hard for Los Angeles fans riding on this excitement not to consider booking their last flight to London.

Jeff Lynne’s ELO playlist at Kia Forum, Inglewood, California, October 26, 2024:

Once again
Bad Woman
would you do
Reckoning
Last Train to London
Believe Me Now
I’m Going Out
Rockaria!
10538 Overture
Strange Magic
Sweet Talking Woman
I Can’t Get This Out of My Mind
Fire High (excerpt)
Living Thing
Phone Line
all around the world
Return to Stone
Shine Some Love
Don’t Drop Me
(repeat) Mr. Blue Sky